Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Part of the job of a communicator is to hold a funnel to the fire hose.

This is especially true over the next two weeks, as the 77th General Convention of The Episcopal Church commences in Indianapolis.

Deputies and bishops will meet in committee hearings, then legislative sessions, considering hundreds of resolutions. I will only report on a handful.

This is not about censorship or steering people of my diocese to one direction or another. Rather, selecting the top dozen or so issues gives a focus to General Convention, providing information about key decisions instead of foisting every detail on an audience.

This won't appease the handful of people who want to know the details of every dot and tittle. But I'm banking on the dedicated policy wonks already being at General Convention or soaking up bandwidth by watching the live stream provided by The Episcopal Church’s communication office (http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/gc2012/)

In my opinion, it is not good stewardship of my audience’s time to provide a detailed litany of every action. As I see it, my job is to sift through the rubble/rabble and highlight key decisions. I hope to provide context and depth to these issues, to explain the decision and its implications, and to fairly present the interests of the various stakeholders. 

A deputy on a listserv recently commented that the dysfunction and vitriol leading up to General Convention makes him reluctant to talk about General Convention with his congregation. Indeed, communicators must be mindful not to infect our audiences with this snarkiness. Frankly it only shuts people down and closes them off to the wider church. 

And that’s a shame, because one of the beauties of The Episcopal Church is our connection to each other, across theological, social, geographic and racial boundaries. General Convention is one tangible expression of this connectedness. Some of what happens in Indianapolis matters – and if it doesn’t, then we need to rethink everything – and find a much better way to spend our time and money. 

Here are the main issues I expect to report to my diocese (being open of course to the movement of the Spirit): 

• Structure: Leaders at all levels of the church have called for a major overhaul of how The Episcopal Church is structured, from administration at the New York headquarters to the shape and scope of General Convention. More than half of the dioceses of The Episcopal Church passed resolutions asking for significant structural reform “for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and the mission that he has entrusted to us as baptized members of his Body.”  
• Budget: With forecasts for declining revenue both from dioceses and from investment income, the proposed 2013-15 budget of The Episcopal Church presents major cuts in significant areas. The proposed budget is set at $105 million over the next three years – a $4.5 million drop from 2010-12 budget.
• Anglican Covenant: The Anglican Covenant is a document that seeks to define the complex relationship between the many churches of the Anglican Communion. The creation of the document was spurred largely by the election as bishop of a partnered gay man in The Episcopal Church and subsequent disagreements about the role and nature of homosexuality. Each constituent church in the Anglican Communion is asked to consider adoption of the covenant. Several resolutions will come before General Convention, offering a range of responses, from outright refusal or acceptance or a rejection of the covenant but a desire to stay in conversation and communion.  
• Same-sex blessings: At the 2009 General Convention, bishops and deputies passed a resolution asking for development of liturgical resources for same-sex blessings. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music spent the past three years widely soliciting feedback and input to develop the liturgical resource, “I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing.” A resolution calls for the adoption of these resources and the authorization of a trial-use liturgy for same-sex blessings. Even if the resolution passes, congregations and dioceses have the option of whether or not to conduct same-sex blessings. Another resolution calls for the creation of a task force to study the societal, cultural and legal changes in the practice of marriage.  
• Emerging church: Several resolutions seek to support emerging church practices. One resolution calls for a change in the type of data collected in parochial reports so that non-traditional worshipping communities and styles could be better reflected. Other measures call for the development of a multi-media evangelism guide and for a plan to identify and train lay evangelists.  
• Open table: At issue is whether or not baptism is a requirement to receive the Eucharist. Currently the rubrics of The Episcopal Church call for communion to be open to “all baptized Christians.” A resolution from the Diocese of Eastern Oregon asks General Convention to move toward an “open table” that invites all, “regardless of age, denomination or baptism to the altar for Holy Communion.”  
• Health and pension benefits: In 2009, General Convention passed two significant measures that required Episcopal entities to offer equitable coverage for health benefits and pension to clergy and laity. Essentially, the genesis of these resolutions was a matter of justice, that lay employees of the church have access to the same benefits as clergy employees. However some unexpected consequences have arisen. For instance, most employees at Episcopal schools and pre-schools are laity. The current regulation would cause an immense financial hardship for some groups, even to the point of forcing them to close.  
• House of Deputies leadership: The current president, Bonnie Anderson, announced last month that she was not seeking re-election. She served two three-year terms and has been a part of the House of Deputies for 21 years. The president of the House of Deputies serves as vice president of Executive Council. He/she presides over the House of Deputies at General Convention and performs many functions of liaison, development and opportunity between conventions. This is a non-salary position, although there is a budget for travel and staff.